


that little spot only you knew about

by inthemeadows



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist!Catra, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mild Language, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Slow Burn, adoptive mom!mara, fire escape au, long slow burn, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27944384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inthemeadows/pseuds/inthemeadows
Summary: At five years old, Catra moves in to a new apartment.At five years old, Adora meets the new neighbors, and becomes best friends with the girl upstairs.Together, they find solace on the fire escape connecting their two apartments as they navigate junior year.Basically, a fire escape high school AU.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 76





	1. could you be my best friend?

**Author's Note:**

> my head: p please. it hUrts... s so BaD. the screen... m makes it so much w worse. plEAse.  
> my brain: write the fic.
> 
> hello and welcome to my headache-induced fic.
> 
> this is a modern high school AU where catra and adora are neighbors and they have their special little spot on the fire escape. 
> 
> yes i took the roof spot from the show and ran with it. so help me.
> 
> work title is from the save the cat script, and chapter title is from (can we be friends?) by conan gray. which honestly, that song is basically their relationship for this fic.
> 
> anyways. hope u guys enjoy. i will let u read it now

Despite what you may think, Adora barely remembers the day they met.

Sure, you could blame it on her bad memory, or the fact she was five years old, but you’d think, with how close they are, she’d remember when they first met.

Adora, however, does not. She remembers being excited to meet the new neighbors. She remembers definitely _talking_ to her. Does she remember what they said to each other? No, of course not. What about her impression of her, or how she acted toward Adora? No, she doesn’t remember any of that either. 

What she does remember, is the day they became best friends. Well, really, the day they became _friends_ , period. But when you spend the next eleven years by each other’s sides, it’s kind of a given that the day they became friends was also when they became _best_ friends.

* * *

**_Eleven years ago_ **

_It had almost been a week since the new neighbors moved in. They haven’t really talked at all, except for when they greeted them when they had first arrived. But after that, she still doesn’t know exactly who they are._

_She knows there’s an older lady, with black hair, and who looked kinda mean. And she also knows there’s a little girl who looked her age with brown hair. The girl looked pretty scared, and maybe sad. Adora couldn’t really tell, she wasn’t the greatest at reading faces. But the way the girl hid behind the boxes set outside the apartment, barely looking at anybody, including what Adora assumed was her mom, she could tell she wasn’t in the mood for talking, or playing, which was what Adora was hoping for. A new friend to play with._

_She didn’t really have any of those. She was only adopted by Mara seven months ago, meaning she still hadn’t really gotten used to place. She liked Mara, though. Mara was nice, and kind, and always made sure to tuck Adora in at night, which Adora liked; no one tucked her in before. Though, as Adora got more and more used to and attached to Mara, she was then pulled away from her for preschool._

_Preschool was fun, mostly. The teacher was nice. Even when Adora joined in the middle of the year. She learned all of the letters of the alphabet, and could even spell her name. And she loved all of the crafts, too. And the drawing time. And whenever it was her turn for the sandbox._

_But, she never really made any friends there. Sure, she talked, to the teachers mostly. But no one raced to sit next to her during circle time. And no one asked what she wanted to play outside. And no one would invite her over for a playdate._

_To be honest, Adora was lonely, even if she didn’t quite get it yet._

_But then, as soon as the preschool day ended, she would walk outside, in a nice line of course, and see Mara standing there, ready to take her home. And really, that was the best part of her day._

_Her and Mara would go home and they would play with her toys. Adora would show Mara all the crafts and drawings she did that day, and Mara would always hang them up on the fridge._

_It was nice for Adora, to have someone who loved her. She liked it._

_But then, seeing that small girl who couldn’t even look in her eyes, Adora_ really _wanted a friend. And she made it her mission to become that girl’s friend. Even if she didn’t know her name._

_So here she was now, holding cookies, or brownies, or was it a casserole? Whatever it was, she had made it with Mara for the new neighbors. And now they were delivering it, hoping maybe, just_ maybe _, the girl would want to play with Adora._

_Mara knocked at the door, and it took a few seconds before they heard someone moving inside. Adora gripped the dish even harder, really not wanting to drop it. She was always dropping things, and always felt really bad when Mara had to clean it up. But Mara would just laugh, say Adora was just clumsy sometimes, and then would tell Adora it was ok. If she dropped it this time, it could mess up her chance of becoming friends with the girl. She was_ not _going to be clumsy today. A possible friendship depended on it._

_A few more seconds passed before the door opened. The older lady that she saw last time was standing there, still looking mean. She hoped she wasn’t mean. She didn’t want the girl she didn’t even know the name of to have a mean mom. Wait, was this even her mom? Adora didn’t know._

_Mara smiled. “Hi! You’re the new neighbors, right?” she asked the lady. Hearing Mara speak, Adora remembered she was also supposed to smile. So, she put on her biggest and brightest smile, hoping the lady would like her._

_(Even if she did look mean.)_

_“Yes. Didn’t we meet last week?” The woman returned, not quite as friendly as Mara had been. Still, Adora kept on her smile, and kept holding on to the dish. She wanted to look around the woman to see if the girl was there, but she remembered Mara telling her she shouldn’t look inside other people’s homes._

_“Yes, we did, but me and Adora here wanted to bring you guys some brownies we made,” she said before turning her head towards Adora and gesturing. Getting what Mara was trying to say, Adora smiled even brighter as she held out the dish to the lady._

_The woman carefully took the brownies from Adora’s hands. She gave a small smile before turning back to Mara. “Is that all?” she questioned, coolly, like she and Adora had interrupted something._

_“Um, well, Adora wanted to ask you something,” Mara brightened as she gently nudged Adora. The woman turned back to Adora with a raised eyebrow._

_Now Adora was a little bit scared. What if the woman said no? What if she wasn’t allowed to see the girl? What if the girl wasn’t even here? What if_ she _didn’t want to play with Adora?_

_She started playing with her hands, looking down at her bright red shoes. Her confident and friendly smile had fallen, as she tried to not let her nerves get the best of her._

_“Um… could—would it be okay… if I could play with… the girl?” Adora didn’t know what to call her. She didn’t know if this was her mom, or even if the girl was here._

_She looked back up to see the woman looking a little surprised, but then she turned toward the inside of the apartment and called out, “Catrina!”_

_Adora heard the pitter-patter of feet running across wood before the girl appeared behind the woman. She still looked scared and sad, but maybe less scared. She looked the same as when she saw her before, with her long brown hair, but she had new clothes on._

_“Catrina, this young girl here asked if she could play with you. Why don’t you go ahead?” The woman told the girl, Catrina, Adora knew now. Something about the way the lady spoke to Catrina, or maybe it was that she didn’t really_ ask _the girl, but it made Adora more convinced this lady was mean._

_Catrina looked over at Adora. She had this confused look on her face, with probably some surprise, Adora could tell. She smiled back at the girl, finally regaining some of her confidence, and waved. Something in Catrina’s face shifted, and she looked even more surprised at Adora’s movements. Then, she turned back towards the woman and nodded before running off to come back moments later, but this time with shoes on._

_“We’ll be just below you if you need anything, or if Catrina needs to come home,” Mara assured._

_The woman nodded before ushering Catrina out the door. She still looked scared, but maybe… excited? Adora didn’t want to get her hopes up, because she_ really _wanted to be this girl’s friend, but she really hoped she didn’t imagine the excitement on the girl’s face._

_They began walking down towards Adora and Mara’s apartment, and Adora decided to try and talk to the girl._

_“I’m Adora,” she told her. The girl didn’t speak, just moved her head to indicate she acknowledged her. Adora waited a bit more for the girl to say her name, but she still didn’t talk. Adora spoke instead again. “Your name is… Catrina, right?” Despite hearing it multiple times from both adults, Adora couldn’t quite pronounce it properly. The girl nodded again, even if Adora butchered her name. “Catrina… that’s kind of hard to say,” she thought out loud. Then, an idea struck her. “What if I called you Catra instead?”_

_The girl finally looked back at Adora. Eyes wide with surprise again. “Catra…” she whispered quietly, testing out the nickname. That was the first time she’s spoken! Or, at least, Adora heard her talk. Still, she brightened at the sound of the girl’s voice._

_“Yeah! Is… is that okay?” Adora wondered. The girl continued to look at Adora for a little bit longer before turning her gaze back to the floor and nodding once again._

_“Okay! Good.” She smiled even wider, looking ahead to see their apartment a few more doors down._

_All three of them entered the apartment, Adora and Mara kicking off their shoes and casually walking in, and Catra standing in the doorway still. Adora didn’t even notice the girl’s hesitation at entering the apartment. “You can put your shoes over there.”_

_Catra hesitated once more, before finally stepping into the apartment and following Adora’s instructions. She paced over to Adora, not too close, but not too far, as if she was ready for the girl to tell her to go home._

_Adora, however, was on the complete opposite plane. “What do you want to do? We can go to my room, and play with my toys. Or I could ask Mara if she could make us something, if you’re hungry. Or we could… do a craft.” Adora had no idea what she was supposed to do. What were these things even supposed to be like? She’s seen tons of shows and cartoons about friends having fun playdates, but now, having one of her own, she was lost on what was supposed to happen. “I’ve never really had a playdate before,” she admitted._

_Catra looked at Adora again, before muttering, “I haven’t either.”_

_Well she wasn’t expecting that. But, it felt nice. To have someone understand. And to know that she wasn’t the only one who was feeling lost right now. “That’s ok. We can learn together,” she suggested, hoping the girl felt the same._

_Catra gave her a slight smile, which Adora counted as a win._

_“Um.. what about... I show you my room!” she exclaimed, and Catra just nodded back. Adora grabbed her wrist and led her to the back of the apartment wjere her room was. “I have lots of cool toys and stuff on the walls I think you’ll like! And my bed’s really cool, at least I think so. And oh! My window has a really pretty view of the city!” She rambled on until they reached her room._

_Adora had been in her room many times before, it_ was _her room. But this time, with showing Catra her room, with even_ having _Catra in her room, it felt… brighter, somehow. Adora couldn’t explain, but she liked it. She liked having Catra over, even if they haven’t done much of anything yet._

_She began explaining everything in her room to Catra, lost in her own world, as she recounted memories from her short time with Mara. Though Adora didn’t really notice, as the girl still hadn’t spoken since she entered Adora’s room, Catra was absolutely enthralled in every tale Adora had to tell. Adora looked so excited, and Catra couldn’t help that Adora’s energy was contagious._

_“Oh! My bed! This is my favorite!” She rushed over to the side of the bed, this time making sure Catra followed. She pointed to her favorite stuffed animal on her bed. “This is Swift Wind,” she stated. “He’s my favorite, and he’s an_ alicorn _, not a unicorn. A lot of people think he’s a unicorn, but he has a horn_ and _wings, which makes him an alicorn. Mara explained it to me when I got him.”_

_She continued to talk about each of the stuffed animals on her bed, until Catra interrupted her._

_“Which is this?” she asked, pointing to Adora’s purple and blue lion stuffed animal._

_“Oh! Um, I got that one, last week, so I haven’t named it yet. It’s really cute though.” She picked the lion up off the bed, before extending it towards Catra. “You can hold it, if you want.”_

_Catra gingerly took the stuffed lion from Adora. She looked at it in awe, admiring the stuffed animal for a bit, before clutching it to her chest. The lion was soft, so Adora assumed Catra liked the material._

_“Do you want to name him?” she asked her._

_Catra thought for a moment, looking back down at the lion. Then, her eyes lit up as she announced, “Melog.”_

_“Melog. I like it. I think it suits him perfectly.” Adora beamed back._

_The rest of playdate went about the same, Adora rambling on as they played with the toys. Though, the longer it went on, the more comfortable Catra got, and the more she spoke._

_At some point, Adora had gotten hungry, and asked if Catra wanted a snack. She agreed, and after getting cleaned up from the “peanut butter incident,” they sat at the kitchen table, quietly munching on their crackers._

_(Adora had insisted she make the snack for their guest, even after Mara warned her to be careful. All she had to do was scoop out the peanut butter onto the crackers, but Adora was clumsy, and somehow got peanut butter all over her clothes. Mara was Mara though, and laughed it off, before cleaning her up and finishing preparing the girls’ snack.)_

_The only sound in the apartment was the girls’ quiet chewing for a while. Then, Adora broke the silence._

_“Will you be my friend?” she asked quietly._

_Catra stopped chewing for a moment as she looked up at Adora, eyes wide. Then, she rapidly moved her head to agree to Adora’s question._

_Adora grinned at her. She had a new friend! She could have more playdates with Catra! They were friends now! Adora swore she couldn’t be happier, but then Catra smiled back at her, and she realized she was wrong._

* * *

Adora stared out at the sunset. She’d seen this same picture before, many times actually. The way the sun would sink down lower into the sky, painting a gradiant of yellow, orange, pink, and purple across the horizon in front of them. The way the colors cast a hue over the cityscape that gave it an awe-inspiring view. It was beautiful, yes, but it was also familiar.

Maybe that’s why Adora liked it so much.

Her mind began to wander, as she watched the tints of the sky change slowly, change immensely. It wasn’t like it was hard for her to drift off into her own little world, she did it too often. If anything, it was hard for Adora to stay in the present moment. She was trying to work on it, but when you’re staring at the sunset, you can’t really help it.

She was excited for tomorrow to say the least. I mean, it was the _start of junior year_. Anyone (Catra) could argue it was just like any other year, but Adora couldn’t help it. She was a planner, and this year everyone had to start thinking about college.

Of course, Adora already knew where she wanted to go. What she wanted to study. She had thought about this since _eighth grade_. But now, it was becoming real. She had to work for it now. It wasn’t just a distant dream, one to keep with her forever. One she could use when adults would ask her goals, or her plans for her future. One that seemed so far away, that it was easy enough to daydream about.

But now it wasn’t far at all.

And maybe that’s what scared Adora the most.

_No,_ she wasn’t going to let herself be scared right now. She still had to think about tomorrow. No more (scary) college thoughts. Only ones about tomorrow.

She’d been ready for the start of the year since early August, as soon as their schedules were released. She already went school supply shopping with Catra; it was their annual thing, even if Catra barely got anything.

(She wouldn’t get what she actually _did_ need any way else. So they made a thing out of it.)

She had everything prepared; her pencil bag organized, her notebooks, folders, and binders all color-coded, her backpack neatly packed and ready for the school year. She knew exactly where all of her classes are, and the exact path she would take to get to them. She let herself mentally walk through the school one more time, even though she had it down pretty well. 

Catra would say she was being excessive, and overprepared, but Adora knew she was just being cautious. You can never be too careful, anyway. 

Speaking of her best friend, Adora started to wonder about the rest of the year. Homecoming was in October, but she doubted they’d go. They hadn’t before. Catra wasn’t really into the whole party scene. So, usually they’d just stay in and have a party themselves. Not like it was ever different from their normal time together.

Junior prom was in the spring, though. Maybe, just _maybe_ , she could convince Catra to go to that. If not, then she’d have to get her to promise to go senior year together. She was _not_ missing prom both years. 

Then, she started thinking about college again. Where did Catra want to go? What did she want to study? Would she want to travel far, or stay near? (Adora knew it was probably far.) Did she already have a major in mind? Would she and Adora go together, stay near each other? Or would they separate? And then would they lose touch, and never be friends again? Would they—

“Adora?” Catra said, pulling her out of her spiral. She turned her head to see that Catra was looking at her expectantly. Adora knew what that look was. She knew that Adora had begun to get too lost in her own head, and she needed to be brought back to the present. Adora also knew Catra wanted her to share what she was thinking.

She sighed before turning to look back out at the orange-lit cityscape. “Nothing,” she murmured, knowing full well Catra would still push her. She paused for a moment, trying to figure how to word it. I mean, she wasn’t about to dump her mini panic on Catra now. “Just… thinking about the year ahead,” she settled on.

Catra hummed in response, also turning back toward the sunset. She waited for Adora to elaborate. Adora didn’t.

“Are you excited?” she questioned. She knew Catra wanted her to go back to before, but she wouldn’t. Not now, at least. She’d just freak herself out about how close college is.

“I mean, not really. It’s just like any other year.”

There it was. “Knew you’d say that,” Adora teased, lightly nudging Catra.

“Shut up,” Catra replied, rolling her eyes jabbing Adora back. “It’s just more school, more pressure about college, junior prom, which I’m _not_ going to by the way, and tests. Not that exciting, honestly.”

Adora decided to press the prom thing later, probably sometime closer to the actual dance. “Oh come on, you gotta be excited about _something_ . College? Classes? Art? _Anything?_ ” She was _going_ to get Catra to admit she was a little bit excited. Even if it took a lot of pushing. 

Catra sighed. “Fine. I guess… newspaper. That’s always fun.” 

Adora nodded back, agreeing with her. Newspaper _was_ fun, she’d admit, even if it got a little stressful for Adora. She liked it, though, because one, it was the only extracurricular Catra did, and two, they did it together, which was always a plus. 

“What about you?” Catra inquired, twisting her head to look at Adora again.

“Well—”

Catra held up a hand and cut her off. “Nope, no list, _One_ thing.” She smirked, knowing Adora would have a hard time choosing.

Adora rolled her eyes before sorting through her mental list and picking out the best one. “I guess… if I had to choose _one_ … math.”

Catra looked absolutely baffled. “ _Math?_ ” Adora just shrugged. “You hate math!”

“Yeah, but we have it together this year,” she answered, as if it was obvious why she was excited. 

Catra just raised her eyebrows and looked away. 

Adora knew Catra was smart. She had _always_ been smart. But Catra was also stubborn. And so she never takes any honors or AP classes. None, except for math. 

The one thing Catra would admit she was good at was math. Adora, however, was _not_ good at math. She would admit that. And Adora, being the overachiever she was, took almost _all_ honors or AP classes. 

So, they always took the same math class. They were never in the same class before, but now they were. And they also had lunch together. It made sense why Adora was excited for math, despite the fact she _knew_ she would struggle with it. At least Catra would always help her with homework.

Suddenly, the sun had completely set, and their little spot was doused in darkness. Catra must have noticed at the same time, because she sighed.

“Weaver probably has dinner ready.” 

That was all she had to say, really. Adora got it. Catra stood up and climbed the steps back up to her apartment.

“See you in the morning,” Adora called.

“Yeah.” Catra smiled. “See you.”

And then, Adora was alone on the fire escape. She continued looking at the stars for a bit after Catra left. She didn’t know how long she stayed out there.

Soon, she sighed, just as Catra had, and stood up and walked back in the window.


	2. she shined so bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Catra have their first day of junior year, Catra writes a card for Adora’s sixth birthday, and Adora is still a horse girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i’m back!
> 
> here’s chapter 2 that i DIDN’T write with a headache ;)
> 
> thank you all so much for kudos and comments, i really appreciate them!
> 
> now enjoy reading!
> 
> chapter title from “starry girl” by sol williams

Catra groaned as her alarm beeped at her. She _hated_ waking up this early. Even if Adora had spent weeks before, waking her up earlier to “prepare for school.” 

(Not like she was complaining _that much_. It was just more time with Adora, after all.)

This time, she had to get up and actually _learn_ , instead of laying around with Adora all day, something she did _not_ want to do at seven fucking thirty in the morning. 

Still, she got up and began getting ready, knowing Adora would pester her if she didn’t. 

Adora was really fucking excited for this year. Catra had no idea why. All junior year meant was having to actually think about the future, and college. (And as much as she was desperate to get away, who knows if she could even go.) Not to mention, literally _everyone_ says junior year was the hardest. She only had one advanced class, precalc. And yet, she was not looking forward to having tons of tests and work just to help her get into college. 

Still, Adora was like a little kid, so excited for the first day of school, it was almost contagious. Everytime Adora gushed about the upcoming year, Catra couldn’t help but feel a bit more excited.

But was it excitement, or contentment? 

The fact that Catra would be with Adora the whole year, always having her by her side… well, Catra was content. And sure, by extension, excited.

Eventually dragging herself out of bed, Catra began getting ready for the day. Adora would _kill_ her if they were late on the first day of junior year. Not like it was different from any other first day of the school year.

She walked out to the kitchen to see if _maybe_ Weaver had bought food for breakfast and lunch. Instead, she found another fucking note.

Why should she even be surprised? It’s not like this is how it’s been since she was a kid. With Weaver just leaving a day, maybe two, at a time at first, on some sort of “business trip” (What did she even do? Catra never bothered to ask, never bothered to care). As Catra grew, so did the time Weaver spent away. A day became a week, a week became two, and now she was home maybe five times a month. If she even bothered. 

Catra’s not even sure Weaver cares about her. But, it’s not like she cares about Weaver. So, she’s grown used to it.

It’s different when Weaver _is_ actually home, though. Always finding something to yell at Catra for, always talking about how she should be more “obedient” despite the fact Weaver’s not even home most of the time, and, worst of all, always talking about how Adora could be “such a good influence” on Catra. That always infuriates her. 

(Adora’s a fucking mess, too. Weaver’s not asking for anything better.)

She sighed, crumpling the note and chucking it into the trash. She had no use for it, anyway. It’s not like she really cared when she’ll get back. 

Right as she finished getting ready, Adora knocked on her window.

“Hey Adora,” she greeted, letting her into her room.

“Catra, you ready?” Adora didn’t hesitate. Catra could tell she was ecstatic for the first day.

“Yeah, yeah, give me a minute.” 

After gathering her backpack and the rest of her things, her and Adora began walking towards school. Adora was fidgeting the entire walk. She had that stupid smile on her face where she was _trying_ not to smile, ultimately ending up with her biting her lip.

(Catra thought it was cute. If she ever let herself admit it.)

She also couldn’t help but noticed Adora’s quickened pace.

“You seems extremely excited,” Catra pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

“Huh?” Noticing Catra had fallen behind her, Adora stopped and looked at her, her covered smile becoming a full one once Catra caught up with her. “Yeah, well— it’s the first day of school!”

“Yeah, and? We’ve literally had a bunch of other first days. How is this one any different?” Catra questioned, not fully expecting a concrete answer.

Instead, “I just— I have high hopes for this year. I want it to be a good one.” 

That surprised Catra a little, especially since Adora’s tone had gotten softer. 

Matching her, Catra responded, “Me too.”

And then they kept walking and chatting like any other day. Like it was just a small moment in time. Though, to Catra, it wasn’t.

She always enjoyed the softer moments with Adora, even if she’d never admit that to her. 

Still, it made her happier.

* * *

Catra had been right. This year was going to be boring as hell.

She’s only had three classes so far, but God help her, she’s already considering dropping out.

...Okay, well not really. But it was just _so boring_. The only reason she’s still here was because math was next. With Adora.

That would be fun. 

They sat next to each other, passing notes back and forth, Adora rigorously taking notes about everything. (Seriously, even when the teacher started talking about her trip to Italy over the summer.)

Catra _did_ have fun in math class, even if she knew the actual work part wouldn’t be. Life was always more fun, more _bright_ , with Adora around.

Right after math ended, they began walking to lunch, towards their usual table. 

As soon as Glimmer sat down, she was off.

“Ok, Mrs. Marrow is a _bitch_ ,” she whined.

Catra gave a short laugh before responding, “Strong words coming from someone who’s had class with her for, like, forty-five minutes.”

Glimmer huffed. “ _You_ have not met her, and if you have, you would be agreeing with me. Because she is a bitch.”

Glimmer continued complaining about her teacher, while the rest of the table filled up with their friends, Bow, Entrapta, Scorpia, Perfuma… wait where was Mermista?

_Eh, she’s probably off with her boyfriend, or something_ , Catra thought. She’d seen them together once, his name Sea… Eagle? She didn’t remember. She didn’t even know if they were together.

Still, conversations went on around the table as normal, just like last year.

Catra was grateful. She wasn’t too big on the whole “big change” thing. 

“Wait, Adora, when does soccer start?” Bow asked at one point.

Adora finished chewing her sandwich before answering, “Um, we start practice next week, I think.”

“Oh. Ok.” Bow turned towards Glimmer, but then flipped back to Adora. “So you won’t be that busy after, right?”

“Uh… well, I’m doing newspaper, of course… and Stu Co, and all my clubs from last year… oh, right! I added book club this year, too. And history club. ” Adora tilted her head at Bow. “Why?”

Now, however, everyone was looking at Adora.

“What?” she asked innocently, after noticing their stares. 

Catra spoke first, raising an eyebrow. “You _sure_ you’re not gonna get too stressed?”

She shook her head. “No. I felt like I had a lot of free time last year, so I thought I should add something. Or, two things.”

Bow and Glimmer exchanged glances. Catra just continued looking at her incredulously.

She laughed awkwardly. “Seriously, what?”

Catra held out her pinky towards Adora. “Promise me you’ll tell me if you get too overwhelmed. _Promise me_.”

Adora reached out her hand, interlocking the pinkies, before giving an obvious smile to Catra. “Promise.”

And just like that, everyone went back to talking like before. 

* * *

The rest of the day was still boring. Math had already past, so she wasn’t looking forward to anything else for the. Well, unless you count going home.

She found Adora waiting at the front of the building, by their usual spot. As soon as she caught Catra's eye of Catra, Adora perked up.

“Catra!” she called excitedly.

“Hey, Adora,” she answered, stopping in front of Adora. She moved her head towards the direction of home, before Adora nodded.

And they were off, walking home from school together like usual. 

“Soo... how was your first day of junior year?” Adora inquired eagerly.

“You were there for part of it,” Catra stated simply.

“Okay, yeah, but what about the parts I _wasn’t_ there for?” She looked at her expectantly. 

Catra shrugged. “Boring. Dumb. Like any other day.”

“Oh come on, nothing was interesting?”

Catra just continued looking forward. She ignored the sigh at her side. 

After a bit, she spoke, “We have a meeting for newspaper in a few weeks.”

“I know.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “You said soccer started next week.”

Adora looked at her blankly. “It does.”

Catra sighed, realizing she’d have to connect the dots for Adora. “Are you sure you’re gonna have time for it?” She didn’t explain exactly what she was referring to, soccer or newspaper.

(She wanted to tell Adora she meant newspaper. Adora couldn’t leave her.)

“I will don’t worry.” And then, sweeter, “I’d always make time for you.”

Catra smiled softly back, before looking down. A few beats passed, as she let the moment sink in. 

Then, “So, how was your first day?” she casually asked, hoping to switch the mood just a little. These kind of conversations were usually reserved for the fire escape. She liked them better there, too.

Luckily, Adora followed suit and immediately began gushing over her first day.

(The way she smiled at every detail she explained, her little laugh at every joke from earlier in the day, when she’d look at Catra to make sure she was still listening; it was kind of cute, in a little kid kind of way. And Catra adored it.)

* * *

**_Ten Years Ago_ **

_Adora’s sixth birthday was in two days, they had been friends for about six months now. Over the course of those six months, a lot had happened with their friendship._

  
  


  1. _Catra was given Melog._



_After their initial playdate and agreement to become friends, they had playdates every week, sometimes more than once a week. And every time, the first thing Catra would do when she entered Adora’s room was pick up Melog. And then she would proceed to hold the lion the entirety of the playdate. Eventually, Mara caught on to this fact and had suggested to Adora that she give Catra the stuffed animal. Adora immediately agreed._

_(“Really? You’d let me keep Melog?” Catra had asked._

_“Of course! He loves you more than me and I don’t play with him much, unless you’re here.” Adora eagerly responded. Catra’s eyes lit up with hope and glee as she hugged Melog even tighter, knowing get to keep the the stuffed lion._

_“Swift Wind and Melog will always be friends, though,” Adora added._

_“Just like us.”_

_Catra’s response had surprised Adora, but Adora smiled really big and nodded. “Just like us.”)_

  
  


  1. _They had become_ best _friends._



_It wasn’t as memorable as a moment you’d think, but both girls absolutely adored the memory._

_Neither of them had had a best friend, or friend in general, before._

_They were just sitting in Adora’s room, playing with Adora’s stuffed animals as always._

_Grabbing Swift Wind and Melog, prancing them around the carpet, Adora recounted, “And the two animals ran off to live together as best friends. The end!”_

_“Do you want to do that?” Catra blurted, not elaborating._

_“What? Live together?” Adora questioned, furrowing her eyebrows._

_“No, be best friends.”_

_Adora paused for a moment, soaking in the feeling._

_Then, she nodded. “Yes. We should be best friends.”_

_Catra gave a smile before echoing, “We should be best friends.”_

  
  


  1. _Adora had become_ way _more obsessed with horses._



_Sometime in October or November, Mara had brought home a book about horses from the library for Adora. Adora insisted she read it with Catra, since she knew Catra didn’t get library books that much._

_And so, they held another playdate where they sat on Adora’s bed, reading. Catra thought it was a cool book, but figured that was where it would end._

_Adora, however, became absolutely_ enthralled _with every fact, every story, every drawing of a horse, she made Mara extend the check out date just to keep rereading it again._

_Catra was a little confused as to what was so amazing about horses, but nonetheless, she let Adora talk as much as she wanted about them. And, she wasn’t complaining when there were more horse friends for Melog and Swift Wind._

  
  


_So now Catra was sitting in her own room, two days before Adora’s birthday._

_She had decided to get Adora a horse-related gift, seeing as the girl really enjoyed them. She found a stupid poster at a bookstore. It had a picture of a horse with the words “Horses are a girl’s best friend!” around it. She knew Adora would love it, probably laugh too much at it, and then hang it above her bed._

_But now she was onto the hard part: the card._

_She was always taught the card had to be sincere, and personal, but what was she supposed to say? Weaver wasn’t home, so she couldn’t ask her what she should put._

_After sitting there, frustrated for many long minutes, Catra finally decided to write something._

_‘Happy Birthday Adora’_

_(She had practiced writing those words many times, to make sure it was perfect for her.)_

_But she still didn’t know what else to say._

_What else was she supposed to write?_

_Coming up with an idea, Catra dug around her closet. She searched everywhere in there, in the back corner, on the shelves, even between her clothes hanging there. Still, she couldn’t find exactly what she was looking for._

_After searching thoroughly through the rest of her room, Catra still came up empty handed. Suddenly, she remembered it being put in the hallway closet._

_Running towards the door, she quickly opened it, immediately finding it on one of the top shelves. Knowing she was too short to reach it, she grabbed a chair nearby and used it to hoist herself up._

_Eventually, she was able to grip it and bring the box down as she stepped off the chair, before running back towards her room again._

_Once there, she sat on the carpet and looked at the box._

_She really hadn’t touched it since they moved? Not even on her birthday? A little saddened by that fact, she tentatively lifted the top of the box, revealing an array of photos, trinkets, and of course, cards._

_All from her parents._

_Catra picked the first one off the top, it being from her fifth birthday. It had little cartoons of cats drawn all around a big, pink five on the cover. On the inside, there was a cat with a party hat and a cake, and the sentence “you’re purr-fect!” printed below it._

_On the other side, a note. Written by her parents._

“Happy Birthday, Catrina!

We love you so much! We’re so lucky to have you and can’t wait for five to be the best.Year. Ever!

Love,

Mom and Dad”

_Catra missed them. A lot. She loved them. But they were gone now. And she was left her Aunt Weaver._

_It was then Catra realized she was crying. She was crying? Why was she crying? Weaver would probably get mad at her for crying. Quickly stuffing the card back in the box, Catra went back to Adora’s card._

_At least she knew what it was_ supposed _to be like now._

_Well, she couldn’t put “I love you,” because that would be weird. Adora’s her friend,_ best _friend, but not her parents._

_So what could she put? Maybe what she liked about Adora?_

_The way Adora always seemed so happy to see her, to play with her again? The way she felt like Adora’s smile was so big and so bright all the time, it made Catra smile more? The way she would get obsessed with something like horses and_ always _make sure to share her horse facts with her? The way she would always insist to at least try making Catra a snack, despite it always ending with some of the ingredients on her clothing? The way she’d always let Catra choose the stuffed animal she wanted to play with first? The way Catra’s world seemed… brighter with Adora around?_

_Is that even possible? For someone to make your world brighter?_

_Catra didn’t know. But she knew if it was, Adora would always make her world brighter._

_She realized she probably shouldn’t put that on Adora’s card. So, she kept thinking. What about what Adora was like?_

_Well, Adora was nice. And fun. And funny. And easily excited. And cool. She was really cool. Ever since the first day they met, Catra thought Adora was cool._

_Hm. She could put that on the card._

_What else? Adora was amazingly cool, but she needed to add something else. She needed to make sure this card was perfect for Adora. Because… well maybe, if it isn’t, Adora might not like her as much._

_She had to make sure she and Adora would always be together._

_And so, the card ended up with:_

“Happy Birthday, Adora!

Your so cool and amazing and we should be even bester friends. I hope you like being six

Love

Catra”

_She signed off the card the same way her parents had. She didn’t know any other way._

_It was cute, in a six-year-old way, with her messy handwriting, and her misspellings._

_On the other side of the card, she decided to draw a picture of her and Adora. Just to make it a bit more personal._

_(She really liked drawing. Especially when she and Adora made stories with Melog and Swift Wind.)_

_And now, she couldn’t wait for Adora’s birthday._

* * *

Catra climbed in the window to see Adora sitting nicely in desk, next to her organized, tidy, desk, studying peacefully. So, in typical Catra fashion, she sighed loudly to get Adora’s attention and dramatically flopped onto her bed. Once Adora realized she was there, she just rolled her eyes before turning back to work again.

“Wow, not even gonna say hi,” Catra remarked, faking offence. 

“You know, after eleven years of you climbing into my window unannounced, I find that we really don’t have to greet each other,” Adora retorted, still not looking up from her books. “Besides, _your_ greeting was just a dramatic sigh,” she added.

Catra just raised an eyebrow and shrugged in response.

A few beats passed before someone spoke again. “It’s the first day of school, what are you even doing over there?” Catra asked, curious.

“Putting the syllabus in my planner,” Adora answered immediately.

Catra snorted. “Right. Forgot you had one of those. What class?”

Finally looking up from her books, Adora gave her a look. “All of them?”

“ _All of them?_ Even math? She didn’t even give us a syllabus!”

She shrugged. “I emailed her.”

“God, Adora, one of these days, you are going to over plan yourself to death,” she teased. She could’ve imagined it, but she _swore_ she could see Adora tense at that. But as soon as she saw it, it was gone.

Adora went back to her planner. “There’s no such thing as overplanning,” she stated, quieter than before. 

Deciding she probably shouldn’t push more on that, because of Adora’s _maybe_ reaction, she just sighed again and looked up at Adora’s ceiling.

It was covered in stars and constellations, put there from when they were seven and Adora had a newfound love for space. She still hadn’t taken them down after all these years.

Catra’s glad, though. It brings back the memory of when they painted them on there. She hadn’t had a particularly great day before, but after painting with Adora and Mara, laughing and playing, and even somehow ending up with paint covering their clothes, she was so happy. Even just thinking about that time made her happier now.

Her eyes began drifting to the edges of the ceiling, and then down to the walls. There were a few posters up on them still, and then Catra found it.

The stupid horse poster she had gotten for Adora’s sixth birthday. She still had that? After all this time? She thought Adora was _finally_ out of her stupid horse girl phase, but maybe not.

Looking at the poster, Catra snorted, luckily getting Adora to stop working and swivel in her chair to see.

“You still have that horse poster?”

“Um, _yes._ One of my prized possessions, actually,” Adora stated, matter-of-factly. Catra just laughed and rolled her eyes. “Hey, it reminds me of _someone_ telling me, and I quote, that I’m ‘so cool and amazing and we should be bester friends.’”

Catra’s mouth hung open before she insisted, “I was six! I did not have proper grammar then, you can’t blame me!”

“You barely have proper grammar _now_!” Adora laughed before joining Catra on her bed.

Catra rolled her eyes before scooting over to make room for Adora. Once she had settled in, Catra lightly slapped her arm as a response to her remark, earning a pout from the other girl.

“So does that mean you’re still a horse girl?” Catra joked.

“Well, the term ‘horse girl’ is actually pretty restrictive—”

“ _Oh my god_ , just answer the question, Adora!”

Adora thought for a moment, looking up, before answering. “Yes, I guess in _your terms_ , I’m still a ‘horse girl.’”

Catra shook her head. “Can’t believe my best friend has been a horse girl the _entire time_ I’ve known her.”

Jabbing Catra’s side with her elbow, Adora smiled. “Swifty takes personal offence to that, by the way.”

It was then Catra realized Adora was looking up at a shelf on the opposite wall, which proudly presented the stuffed animal. “You still have the unicorn plushie?”

“ _Alicorn_ , thank you very much,” Adora corrected, “and why would I ever get rid of Swift Wind? You still have Melog, right?”

Catra felt the mood shift as Adora’s voice quieter with her last words, and Catra felt herself also become softer, quieter. “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I?” 

Something shifted again, but it was different than before. Staring at Adora, and Adora staring back. The little smile on her face, the one reserved for _her._ Catra felt something within her. Warmth, maybe? She didn’t know. But it was so… nice. She just wanted to stay like this, with Adora, forever. Maybe get closer to her and… 

But then Adora turned her head again, and the moment was gone.

Something had changed in her, and Catra had no idea what it meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am just a simple farmer. i am just sowing the seeds. ;)
> 
> anyways, i hope you all enjoyed! who knows when i’ll update next (hopefully soon) but right now i’m just trying to get through all the exposition and set-up and THEN it’ll probably get going.
> 
> fun fact: most of this was written while i was procrastinating studying for finals. if any of you are also taking exams right, i wish you lots of luck!
> 
> also i finished hilda season 2 and if anyone would like to discuss it, I AM HERE FOR IT (instagram is @lemon._lights)
> 
> finally, (and i should’ve done this last chapter) thank you to my friend abby who literally told me for MONTHS to write a she-ra fic.
> 
> alright have a fun day/night! <3

**Author's Note:**

> i really hope you guys enjoyed reading this. i have a lot planned for it, so i’m praying i don’t randomly lose motivation. 
> 
> if you’re confused about anything, don’t be afraid to ask. just know a lot of stuff will be explained in later chapters.
> 
> also i wanted to say this is my first time using the rich text option, so hopefully it all looks how i want it to. 
> 
> fun fact: apparently writing a catradora fic clears a headache. highly recommend this solution to everyone. /j
> 
> thank you so much for reading and now i’m gonna leave you with a random thought that i had while writing this chapter: eighth is spelled so weird. why is h, then t, then another h. i don’t like it.
> 
> have a wonderful day/evening/night!  
> <3


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